Consumer confidence in overseas travel dipped in December and early January with the return of restrictions due to the Omicron variant but did not fall back to the level of summer 2021 let alone to the level a year ago.
That is according to a survey by research firm BVA BDRC. It found consumers ‘comfortable’ to take a flight early last month outnumbered by those ‘not comfortable’ by 32 percentage points, six points worse than in November but four points better than in August and a 19-point improvement year on year.
The proportion comfortable to take an overseas holiday was similarly down by six percentage points on October at -33, but six points better than in July and August and a 22-point improvement on January 2021.
Just 1.7% of respondents said they took a flight in December, half the rate in September (3.4%) and down from 2.4% in November, but above the 1.3% rate in August.
Similarly, just 1.5% reported booking a flight in December, almost half the proportion in October (2.9%) but an improvement on 1.3% in July. The poll likewise found 1.2% booked an overseas holiday in December – down from 2.3% in October but on a par with July and August and more than double the rate in December 2020.
BVA BDRC polled 1,755 UK adults on January 4-10. The government announced the removal of pre-departure tests for fully vaccinated travellers on January 5 along with the switch from a PCR test to a rapid test for vaccinated arrivals.
The research firm noted Plan B measures remained in place in England at the time, with tighter restrictions in the devolved nations and “the prospect of tighter restrictions still a real possibility”.
It concluded: “Accommodation, flight and holiday booking activity all dipped but remained at significantly higher levels than in December 2020.”